Page 131 of I Ran Away to Evil
Her question was met with an awkward silence.
“I guess wecouldlet Knolith know …” Keith mumbled, though he knew it wasn’t really a viable option.
“I wouldn’t,” Chloe said. “He’d never let us hear the end of it.”
Rufus tapped the table with his claw. He explained to the princess, “Knolith is almost finished closed-door cultivation of the [Ten Thousand Star Arts] afterfinallyfinding the [Heavenly Purple Grade Frost Grass]—”
“Whateverthatmeans,” Chloe grumbled.
“—and expressly requested that he beleft aloneuntil the summer solstice,” Rufus finished. “The lizardkin general is very hot-tempered and would probably freeze the Drendil army into statues and shatter those statues into a pile of shaved ice. They would beverydifficult to put back together again …”
“I mentioned him because an assassin might wake him up as they come through the eastern forests, and the only thing worse thanmedisturbing him would be Drendil disturbing him …” Keith rubbed the bridge of his nose, exhausted at the idea of the amount of paperwork that would cause.
“Want me to deal with them?” Henrietta put up her hand. “I have most of the Drendil spies memorized … which reminds me, don’t you still have some assassins locked up?”
Keith shook his head. He didn’t think it was a good idea and tried to dissuade her. “One, are yousureyou want to face off against a bunch of Assassin-class fighters in a part of the forest you’ve never been to?”
“That … is a good question.” Riahadfaced off against the griffin egg thieves in the east, but that wasn’t exactly afulltour of the Dark Enchanted Forest’s eastern wood. And the class came with a lot of annoying skills.
“And two,” Keith continued, “the assassins I captured aren’t from Drendil.”
“What?”
Keith shrugged. “I don’t know where they are fromyet, but it’s not Drendil.”
The room turned as one to Minstrel Bronwynn, who was happily sampling a spoonful of mushroom broth. It was her turn to ask, “What? I just boated up with everyone, since the border was closed. Do you think I knoweverything?”
“Butdoyou?” Ria asked.
Bronwynn gave her a playfully violent grin. “I know there were forty-seven people of various Assassin based classes, from Rogue to Blood Mage, who were on the ship when I boarded. We picked up another sixty-one between Sumbria and Servalt.”
Keith raised an eyebrow as she continued.
“I’d assume the first set were from Peldeep, since that was the port before mine. The rest were Gloria’s guild members.
That woman loves to find ways around places like the Dark Enchanted Forest. I wouldn’t be surprised if she had an entire collection of assassins leveled up special for each kingdom.”
Bronwynn spooned another spoonful of soup and made appreciative noises.
Chloe shot a look at Rufus, and he shrugged. “She’s still telling the truth. Or what she believes to be the truth.”
“That’s a handy skill.” Bronwynn admired the beastman, and his tail started wagging gently before Rufus got it under control.
“So then,whois going to head off the army traveling up the eastern side?” Chloe demanded.
“I have an idea.” Ria put up her hand again. She turned to Keith. “You know,wenever got a chance to finish our date …”
Keith thought it over and couldn’t help himself. His lips twitched into a half smile. “A hundred specialized assassins from around the continentdoessound like an interesting evening.”
“You’re both crazy.” Chloe glared at us. “Come on, Julia, let’s go back to b—upstairs.I need a relaxing evening if I’m going to be out resurrecting everyone tomorrow.”
Julia excused herself and trailed after her riled-up fiancée. Ria said goodnight to Keith and Rufus and dragged Minstrel Bronwynn up to her rooms.
Keith was left listening to Rufus freak out about how amazing Minstrel Bronwynn was, but he was too busy thinking about his date with Henrietta to mind.
He’d have to stay up late to catch up on paperwork and the projects he was tinkering with …
CHAPTER 79
